


you don’t know how nice that is (but i do)

by mostlyalive



Category: The Crown (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Multi, Picnics, Polyamory, Threesome - F/F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22459282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlyalive/pseuds/mostlyalive
Summary: a beginning at the end of the world
Relationships: Lady Doris Vyner/Commander Clair Vyner/Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Kudos: 4





	you don’t know how nice that is (but i do)

**Author's Note:**

> listen,, I know the royal family is imperialist and spoiled and generally not worth writing cute fic for... but this episode just made me so happy and I had to just pretend they’re fictional
> 
> characters aren’t mine, don’t sue (actually that’s an interesting legal issue if they’re obviously real people but I digress)
> 
> title from begin again by taylor swift

she buys the house. being here, at the edge of the world, is the only thing that seems to quiet the numbness in her heart. it is a far cry from the luxury and the bustle of london, but elizabeth finds she likes it. she rides tommy nearly every day. the wind at her back as she gallops along the beach takes elizabeth back to her childhood, before she was queen of anything, before anyone cared what she did or what she wore— before she was a mother. on her rides, she often stops in to visit the vyners. they always greet her with open arms, worlds removed from a life where all visits are closely scrutinized and scheduled. in the evenings, the three of them sit near the fire, sometimes discussing current happenings but mostly just sitting in comfortable silence.

margaret writes, sometimes. her letters are full of grandeur and gaiety and something elizabeth cannot quite place, although she suspects it may be longing. it will be all the better for her to have some time to shine, elizabeth thinks. margaret will realize soon enough that she does not really want to give up the lifestyle of a princess. not for a divorcee, like silly edward, and certainly not for love.

lilibet doesn’t write. elizabeth isn’t sure her daughter even knows that she’s moved. no, lilibet is off on her grand trip through their fading empire, too busy being the smiling face of the nation. her daughter had called, once— or rather she had called the palace who had eventually called margaret who had connected her to the vyner’s phone. elizabeth was dining with them, as she found herself doing more and more. lilibet’s voice was tense and their call was brief, little more than pleasantries. when they finished, elizabeth found herself crying. doris put her hand on elizabeth’s shoulder and elizabeth allowed herself to be swept into an uncharacteristic embrace. 

she and doris and the commander go on a picnic. elizabeth wears her unfussiest hat, the kind that would never pass muster in london. sitting on the cliffs, feeling the salty air on her face, she feels new again. over strawberries, they trade kisses and laughter. she knows that come night, the three of them will curl up in one bed or another, filling the grand old house with warmth. as doris takes her hand, elizabeth looks out over the endless ocean, its rolling, white-tipped waves. she thinks: this is the beginning.


End file.
